Bemari

🌍 New EU Restoration Law: What It Means for Businesses 🌿 The recently passed EU Restoration Law is a significant and unique new piece of legislation, being the first to set legally binding targets for the long-term restoration of nature in Europe. Member states are required to restore at least 20% of their land and sea areas by 2030, 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050. This marks a significant step toward reversing biodiversity loss and restoring vital ecosystems. But what does this mean for businesses across Europe? Let's break it down: 🔍 Who It Affects: 🚜  Agriculture: Farmers will need to adopt more sustainable practices (e.g. increasing carbon sequestration in cropland and improving habitats for farmland birds). 🏗️ Construction: Developers must integrate biodiversity considerations into their projects (e.g. increasing urban tree canopy cover and urban green space).   💡 Energy: Companies in the renewable energy sector will need to ensure their projects do not damage biodiversity. Energy companies may also be affected by a target to contribute to free-flowing rivers by removing artificial barriers which could impact dams and hydropower. 🌳 Forestry: Sustainable forest management practices will become mandatory (e.g. increasing biodiversity in forests managed for wood production). 📋 What will be required: Biodiversity Assessments: Businesses will need to conduct regular biodiversity impact assessments. Restoration Projects: Businesses may be required to invest in ecosystem restoration projects, such as reforesting areas or revitalising wetlands. Monitoring & Reporting: Continuous monitoring and reporting on biodiversity impacts will be essential, aligning with the law's transparency requirements. 🇪🇺 Government Expectations: Compliance: Strict adherence to new regulations, with potential penalties for non-compliance. Collaboration: Encouragement of public-private partnerships to achieve restoration goals. Innovation: Businesses are urged to innovate and invest in nature-based solutions, opening up many new opportunities. 💼 Business Opportunities: Reputation: Companies who implement these changes can enhance their corporate image and attract eco-conscious customers. Funding & Incentives: Access to government grants and incentives for sustainable projects. Market Leadership: Early adopters can gain a competitive edge in emerging green markets. Embracing this new EU Restoration Law isn't just about compliance—it's about seizing the opportunity to take a lead in sustainability and drive long-term business growth. 🌱 #Biodiversity #Sustainability #EULaw #BusinessGrowth

The German government has suffered a major legal setback in its fight against air pollution. This marks the first time a government has been challenged under the EU's National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive (NEC Directive). Deutsche Umwelthilfe and ClientEarth successfully argued that Germany's reliance on outdated data hindered its ability to meet legal air quality targets. The court's decision mandates the government to implement concrete measures to combat toxic air. This ruling could push Germany to take stronger action on air quality. It highlights how courts are increasingly holding governments accountable for environmental commitments, following a similar defeat for the UK government over its climate policies. Thoughts on this trend? How might it impact policy and business?

The buildings and construction sector is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.🏗 High embodied carbon emissions are by far the greatest contributing factor the industry’s high impact. Despite this being the case, much of the sector's progress has centred around reducing the ‘operational’ carbon emissions of buildings. It is critical that the sector starts to recalibrate its focus towards embodied CO2.   We've written a blog on the Bemari website outlining some key ways the construction industry can start to make progress. Here are the main points. 🏢 Widespread adoption of less carbon-intensive building materials. 🏢 Better project-level understanding of climate targets. 🏢 Allocated budget for low-carbon procurement. 🏢Standard definitions of, and benchmarks for, net-zero buildings. 🏢 Better and more accessible GHG data. 🏢 Sector coordination for revised health and safety regulations. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/d7A52TuJ Photo by EJ Yao on Unsplash

Tired of getting lost in sustainability buzzwords? ♻️ Our latest Spark Spotlight dives deep into waste management. We explore the industry's biggest challenges and uncover hidden truths behind "trendy" solutions. Intrigued? ➡️ Learn from award-winning expert Zoë Lenkiewicz on how to focus energy for real impact. ➡️ Discover the surprising environmental & social costs of "wishcycling" and trendy reusable. ➡️ Explore the future of waste with maggot farming (don't worry, it's fascinating!) Get the full story in our newsletter: https://lnkd.in/g6hr2VEb

The new edition of the newsletter talks about waste misconceptions, solutions and creative ways to being the value back into the system! Thank you to Zoë Lenkiewicz for sharing her thoughts

🐋 Exciting news is coming from Ireland's waters! A critically endangered North Atlantic right whale has been spotted in Donegal Bay - the first sighting in over a century. With fewer than 400 of these majestic creatures left worldwide, this unexpected appearance offers a glimmer of hope for the species. While challenges like ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement persist, this sighting reminds us of nature's resilience and the importance of conservation efforts.

The Bornean Elephant 🐘 has been assessed as Endangered on the latest @IUCNRedList update with palm oil 🌴plantations listed as a major threat (https://lnkd.in/g9SdeG2a). With only an estimated 1,000 Bornean Elephants left in the wild, action is needed now to prevent their extinction ❌ Elephants are extremely important ecosystem engineers, regulating their environments in unique ways, the loss of these majestic creatures would have a detrimental impact on entire ecosystems. Elephants have also been shown to play an important role in the sequestration of carbon and are therefore helping to tackle the climate crisis! (https://lnkd.in/e7SZSwsu) 🌴 Palm oil is a key ingredient in many commercial goods including cosmetics, household items and ultra-processed foods. It is also used as a biofuel. 🌴 Approximately 39% of Bornean rainforests have been converted to palm oil plantations, equating to 82,000 square kilometers (https://lnkd.in/ei6N2FiP) 🌴 An elephant herd needs around 1,000 km2 of continuous habitat to thrive (https://lnkd.in/eS5ECUcX) Palm oil production opens up an interesting discussion around over-consumption and what we actually need to produce. Sustainable palm oil is clearly a better alternative, however the more a company produces the higher the demand is likely to be, therefore likely having negative environmental consequences. Reducing the production of goods such as ultra-processed foods and unnecessary cosmetics should surely be the end goal. Could the palm oil in your supply chain be contributing to this deforestation and the decline of the Bornean elephant? Is your palm oil traceable? Can you improve this and ultimately aim for 100% deforestation free palm oil? Or could you replace it with sustainable alternatives? 🌿

At Bemari, we love the 'Source to Sea' approach for water impacts. Why? Because it takes a systems approach to freshwater and marine water, rather than viewing these two biomes in siloes. The 'Source to Sea' approach is grounded in the reality that what we do on land and in rivers, lakes and aquifers can have impacts further downstream along coasts and in the ocean... and vice versa. It is an accessible, holistic framework for understanding freshwater and marine TOGETHER. The approach also provides a 'key flow framework', helping businesses get a sense of where water impacts may be in their value chain. Ask yourself the following questions: 🔹 Where in my value chain is water an input? What is the location of this water usage and where is the water coming from? 🔹 Where in my value chain are your activities contributing to water pollution? What is the location of these polluting activities? What is downstream of the polluted water course? 🔹 Does my business' value chain impacting sediment flows? If yes, which rivers sediment flows are being disrupted? For example, do you use sand or aggregates in your value chain? If yes, where were they dredged from, and were they sustainably sourced? 🔹 What are the ecosystem services my business relies on? How are my business activities potentially reducing the efficacy of these ecosystem services? For businesses to start reducing their impacts on the marine environment it is CRITICAL they understand how freshwater impacts can create indirect marine water impacts. To learn more about the 'Source to Sea' approach and why we think it's useful for business, have a read of our blog: https://lnkd.in/dMZpDSpa

The UK government has made two significant moves towards a greener future: 🌱 1. Overturning the Cumbria Coal Mine Approval: Following a landmark Supreme Court ruling, the government has admitted the coal mine was permitted unlawfully. This is a huge victory for climate activists and a step in the right direction for a fossil-fuel-free future. 2. Lifting the Onshore Wind Ban: The "absurd" restrictions on onshore wind have been lifted, paving the way for cheaper, cleaner energy. This decision aligns with the UK's commitment to combat climate change and boost renewable energy. These developments are incredibly promising and show that progress is possible. What are your thoughts on these steps? #ClimateAction #RenewableEnergy #UKPolitics 

Freshwater impacts (rivers, lakes, etc.) and marine impacts (the coast, open ocean, etc.) are linked, and anyone telling you otherwise is missing the bigger picture. It's never been more urgent for businesses to understand this interconnectivity: 🌊 Globally, only 1,000 rivers are responsible for nearly 80% of marine plastic pollution 🌊 Agricultural run-off & wastewater is the primary factor in the creation of 500 marine dead-zones (collectively covering an area greater than the UK). The majority of this pollution enters oceans via rivers. There are 2 important factors your business can analyse to start to understand interconnected water impacts: 🔹 Operations & supply chain proximity to a water body The closer a value chain activity is to a water body, the higher the likelihood that it will have an impact. 🔹 Product proximity to a water body If your product or packaging ends up in a water body, how have you designed it to behave? Is it made of seaweed that will quickly disintegrate with no harm to its end-of-life location? Or is it made of plastic or a natural material that takes time to degrade, like paper or wood? At Bemari, we feel the best framework for businesses to understand their interconnected impacts is the 'Source to Sea' approach. If freshwater and/or marine resources are material to your business, then CSRD requires you to include them in your double materiality assessment. Read our blog to learn more about the approach and how it can help you with CSRD: https://lnkd.in/dMZpDSpa